Azimuth thruster

An azimuth thruster is a configuration of marine propellers placed in pods that can be rotated to any horizontal angle (azimuth), making a rudder unnecessary. These give ships better maneuverability than a fixed propeller and rudder system.

Types of azimuth thrusters

There are two major variants, based on the location of the motor:

Azimuth

An azimuth (ⁱ/ˈæzɪməθ/) (from Arabic al-sumūt, meaning "the directions") is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. The vector from an observer (origin) to a point of interest is projected perpendicularly onto a reference plane; the angle between the projected vector and a reference vector on the reference plane is called the azimuth.

An example is the position of a star in the sky. The star is the point of interest, the reference plane is the horizon or the surface of the sea, and the reference vector points north. The azimuth is the angle between the north vector and the perpendicular projection of the star down onto the horizon.

Azimuth is usually measured in degrees (°). The concept is used in navigation, astronomy, engineering, mapping, mining and artillery.

Navigation

In land navigation, azimuth is usually denoted alpha, , and defined as a horizontal angle measured clockwise from a north base line or meridian.Azimuth has also been more generally defined as a horizontal angle measured clockwise from any fixed reference plane or easily established base direction line.

Thruster

A thruster is a propulsive device used by spacecraft and watercraft for station keeping, attitude control, in the reaction control system, or long-duration, low-thrust acceleration.

Spacecraft thrusters

Marine thrusters

Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Inventor, developed by U.S. based software company Autodesk, is a computer-aided design application for creating 3D digital prototypes used in the design, visualization and simulation of products. It uses ShapeManager, their proprietary geometric modeling kernel.

Autodesk Inventor competes directly with SolidWorks and Solid Edge.

Integrated motion simulation and assembly stress analysis

Inventor includes an integrated motion simulation and assembly stress analysis environment. Users can input driving loads, friction characteristics, and dynamic components, then run dynamic simulation tests to see how a product will work under real-world conditions. The simulation tools can help users optimize strength and weight, identify high-stress areas, identify and reduce unwanted vibrations, and size motors and actuators to reduce energy consumption. Finite element analysis (FEA) lets users validate component design by testing how parts perform under loads (using actual load information instead of estimates).